Ticket stacking machine



p i 1950 R. l. N. WEINGART 2,504,770

TICKET STACKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 4, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 N VEN TOR. Richard A. Wei/190M April 18, 1950 R. 1. N. WEINGART TICKET smcxmc; MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 4, 1947 I N VEN TOR. Richard /Y. Weingarf April 18, 1950 R. l. N. WEINGARTY TICKET smcxmc MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed NOV. 4, 1947 INVENTOR. Richard I N. Weingarf BY f r 6 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 13, 1959 UNITED S iATE-S PAT NT OFFICE;

TICK-ET STACKING MACHINE Richarrhlw N.Weingart, New York, N. Y,

Applicationl lovember 4, 1947, Serial No. 784,03?-

(Clj. 232-1.)

dGlaims. 1

This invention relates to ticket receptacles designed primarily, although not exclusively, for use in motion picture theatres.

It is a common practice in theatres having" a continuous program and where seats: ar not reserved, for the ticket collector to tear the patron's ticket in half, return one portion to: the patron as his receipt, deposit the remainin stub in a ticket receptacle, These stubs are thereafter sent to the theatre ac'countin-g'officel Here.- tofore, no satisfactory means has been devised for preserving the order of the stubs asthey are deposited in the receptacle. it has been impossible to detect a practice whereby stubs are not returned to the patrons, the whole ticket or tickets being surreptitiously returned to the ticket seller who sells them again without accounting for therpurchase price.

Tickets are generally consecutively numbered, the number appearing at each end thereof, and if the stubs of all tickets sold are deposited in the ticket receptacle, and the relative order of deposit preserved, such stubs should b arranged substantially in numerical order since patrons ordinarily proceed directly from the ticket seller to the ticket taker. ihus, if accounting office notes any marked variation from a consecutive numerical arrangement of ticket stubs, there is a fair resumption that dishonest practices are prevalent. 7

An important object of the present invention is to provide a novel ticket receptacle having plural ticket spindles which can 'be successively positioned so as to receive the apertured ticket stulos thereon and thus preserve the sequence of receipt by the ticket collector. In most instances, the ticket will have pre pu-nched holes, but the spindle may have a sharp point for punching the hole. The ticket receptacle further pernuts the theatre accountingoffice to detect miss- 'ing tickets aswell as forged tickets bearing numbers which duplicate the numbers of genuine tickets.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means .for applying support .to the spin dles adjacent their upper ends while permitting free downward movement of the ticket stubs thereon. This improvement is of considerable importance, since if the machine vis to haveany considerable capacity, the spindles should he of consider'able length er the order of three .ieet.

They must ice of asufiicientls; small diam-estate he received in :the -hole-oi usual size the ticket,

and accordingly or the spindle the 555 time.

.a base wall I18. fixedsiide wells iL-a lower end only, regardless of howsturdy it may be, is nevertheless insufilcient.

The improvement in this connection. consists in providing a support. for the upper section of the spindle, the support being formed with a sub.- stantially-V -shaped recess; The spindle is appro priately mounted in a rigid fashion. at its lower end so as to cause upper end to: be tensioned against the recess. This spring tension is generally directed towards the axis, but it also be exerted in any other direction. The spindle has sufficient resiliency'toupermit it to be moved againstv the spring tension away from the support to permit ticket. stubs applied at the upper end of the spindle to pass below. the support. The edges of the v tend to guide the spindle back into the root of the recess when itis released.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a ticket receptacle with plural spindles wherein only one spindle is accessible at one The several spindles are mounted on a rotatable spindle assembly- Which successively regardless of whether or not all of the spindles are filled, spindle numherone is. turned to starthousing being broken away to showthe int rna construction.

Fig. 2 is a broken perspective viowo the we chine with the h using o en d .e 0

Fig.3 isa top vi w of .tnemochenism with parts broken away Fig. 4 isa side-view'with the cas ng and each :of the mechanismhroken away,

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the det ct .imsol eni re- .Fig'. 6 is a brokenperspe ie of one o the ticket spindles.

Fig. v is similar tests 6. hi shows h mea ,*of removing the tickets i om .s slle- The apparatus act :the pre ent ill ranged to be mounted-:witlfin a .housi or door is hinged at ditand upper at o of the others.

cover l4 hinged at it, the two latter walls being arranged to be opened for the purpose of removing stubs from the spindles it. A plurality of these spindles are rigidly mounted at their lower ends in bushings 28 secured to a disc 2!. A hub 22 is secured centrally of the disc, and the disc and hub rotate on a vertical shaft 23 journaiied in a bearing 24 secured centrally of base it. A second disc 25 is secured by means of a hub 25 adjacent the upper end of shaft 23, and the spindles project above such disc as shown at ca. This disc is generally circular, but is provided with substantially V-shaped cut-out portions 2? in equally-spaced relation about its periphery, except as hereinafter noted, and at the center of each V-shaped portions there may be formed a semi-circular recess or notch 39. r

The vertical bore (not shown) in each bushing or socket 20 is substantially parallel with the axis of shaft 23. Recesses 38, however, which receive the upper ends of spindle is are shown as being disposed in a circle of greater diameter than the circle within which sockets 2c are disposed. Thus, spindle is which is preferably made from resilient steel is spring-pressed into recesses 39, or if such recesses are omitted, then into the root of the V. In other words, if disc 25 were removed, spindle It would assume a position generally parallel with the axis of shaft 23 instead of the inclined position shown in the drawing. It is thus clear that each spindle is at all times under a bending stress,.the stress being increased when the upper end is moved away from its supporting notch to allow a ticket to pass below disc 25.

Notches 33 may alternatively be disposed in a I circle of the same or of smaller diameter as bushings 2B, and thebore in the bushing appropriately changed to bias the spindle inwardly. Adjacent each recess an is a number, the several recesses being consecutively numbered, as shown in Fig. 3.

The shaft passes through a hole 29 in cover l4, and at its upper end the shaft is provided with a knurled knob 3 I, and below the knob there is an by opposed, diagonally-inclined walls 34 connected by a third diagonally-inclined wall 35. A horizontal wall 35 is secured to the lower edge of these opposed, inclined walls 34. This horizontal wall 36 is further provided with a cut out portion 3'7, and at the outer terminals of such cutout portion, and aligned therewith, are cut-out portions 38 in walls 34. Cut-out portions 38 are provided to permit such upper terminals 4i of the spindles to pass through such walls.

In the arrangement shown, there are six consecutively-numbered spindles which are'substantially equally spaced, except that the spacing between the No. 6 and No. 1 spindles is double that In this area, on the upper surface of disc 25 there is imprinted a notation to the effect that the spindles are Full.

The following means are provided for. permitting step-by-step rotation of the spindles in one direction only, and for centering each spindle tent lever 42, journalled at 43 on a bracket 44,

which is secured to one of the side Walls H.

Lever 42, which is urged in one direction by a: spring 41, is provided along one edge thereof I with a substantially straight section 39 which isgenerally tangent to a circle of which pivot 43:

is the center. Adjoining the inner terminal of the straight edge there is formed a semicircular notch 45 which merges into a straight section 46 which bears an angular relationship to edge section 39.

As the spindle-carrying assembly is rotated, the bushings successively are engaged by the notch 45 of lever 42, and the rotating spindle assembly thus centers one spindle in ticketapplying position while the others are concealed within the housing. It will thus be apparent that the spindle-carrying assembly may be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, when viewed from above, and at each step of the rotation the lever engages a successive bushing 20. Reverse rotation is prevented by the trailing edge of notch 45 contacting such bushing. It was earlier pointed out that the bushings 20 are equally spaced around the periphery of disc 2|, and since there is double the space between spindles Nos. 6 and 1, a solid bushing 5!) having no spindle supporting function may be disposed on the lower disc between such spindles.

After spindle No. 6 has been filled, the spindle assembly may be rotated one further increment, at which point lever 42 engages solid bushing 50. Further rotation is prevented by means of hook 5| carried by disc 2| which engages post 52 carried by door [2.

Upper hinged wall I4 is arranged to be held in closed position by means of an apertured bolt 53 which receives a lug 54 carried by door l2 when the latter is closed. A lock 55 retains the latter in closed position. Door [2 may further be provided with slots 60 for receiving special tickets which fall into a receptacle 6| on the inner surface of door l2.

The upper end 4| of each spindle I6 is provided with a tapered vertical slot 62. After the tickets shown at 63 have filled the spindle, they may be removed while preserved in their order of deposit by means of a string 64 which is inserted in slot 62. The tickets are then moved upwardly ed the spindle, as. shown in Fig. '7, the ends of the string then tied and the tickets sent to the accounting ofiice. If desired, a tamper-proof lead seal may secure the ends together.

A closure flap 66, hinged at 61, may also be provided for closing opening 31 in plate 36. This closure flap may be disposed in open or vertical position, as shown in Fig. 4, and in closed or horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 3. It is provided with a recess 68 which receives the exposed spindle and looks it against rotation. Any suitable means (not shown) operable from the outside of the housing may be employed for manipulating the flap to closed position and for looking it in such position. When this is done, the entire machine is locked and tickets can neither be deposited on the spindles nor removed therefrom. V

The operation of the machine is as follows. After all tickets have been removed from the spindles, the doors are closed and the spindle assembly rotated to position the number one spindle within the opening in the cover. The ticket collector then receives tickets from the patrons, tears them in half, and places the stubs on the upper end portion of the exposed spindle. The tickets in this position are prevented from passing downwardly on the spindle because of the spindle.

asoswo fsupport aflorded by upper disc 25; The spindle is then moved forwardly to the position shown in broken lines at l6 in Fig. 4, thus permitting the tickets to be pushed or to fall downwardly on the The forward movement of the spindle (away from the axis) is more convenient than a rearward or sidewise movement, but the spindle assembly may be appropriately modified to vary the position of the recess and hence the direction of movement of the spindle to allow the ticket to clear the upper support.

As soon as the number one spindle has been filled with tickets, the spindle assembly is rotated to position the number two spindle within the opening. Thus, the tickets are always applied to the spindles at the same point. This operation is repeated until all spindles have been filled. When the spindle assembly is moved one increment of rotation beyond the Number 6 spindle,

the entire assembly is locked against forward or rearward rotation, the former being prevented by contact of hook 5| with fixed post 52 and the latter being prevented by the trailing edge of notch 45 in lever 42 contacting bushing 58. The covers may then be opened and a cord 64 inserted within slot 62 at the end of one of the spindles. Since the slot is tapered, it acts as a clip to hold one end of the string. The spindle may then be moved outwardly to the position shown at It in Fig. 2 and the tickets moved upwardly onto the cord, after which the ends of the cord are tied. Thi operation is repeated until all of the spindles have been cleared of tickets.

While one form or embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein for illustrative purposes, and the construction and arrangement incidental to a specific application thereof have been disclosed and discussed in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is limited neither to the mere details or relative arrangement of parts, nor to its specific embodiment shown herein, but that extensive deviations from the illustrated form or embodiment of the invention may be made without departing from the principles thereof.

What I claim is:

l. A ticket receptacle including plural ticket spindles for receiving apertured tickets, a rotatable member for the spindles including a lower support upon which the lower ends of the spindles are rigidly mounted with their upper ends spring biased towards the axis of rotation, an upper support having spaced notches receiving the upper terminal sections of the spindles, such upper terminal sections being movable outwardly from the notches against the spring bias to permit tickets received on the spindles to pass below the upper support, a housing for the spindle assembly including an upper wall having an opening permitting the upper end of one spindle only to be exposed for ticket application, means for preventing rotation of the rotatable member as each successive spindle is moved to ticket-applying position, and a closure fiap for the openin in the upper wall and having a recess which receives the spindle in the opening and prevents rotation thereof.

2. A ticket receptacle including a spindle for receiving apertured ticket stubs, means for rigidly mounting the lower end of the spindle, and a plate having a recess for receiving and affording support for the upper section of the spindle, the spindle being spring biased against such recess but being movable outwardly therefrom against such spring bias to permit a ticket applied to the upper end of the spindle to pass below the plate, the spindle having a spring slot at its upper end for receiving a cord for stringing the ticket stubs when they are removed from the spindle.

3. A ticket receptacle including plural ticket spindles for receiving apertured tickets, a movable assembly for supporting the spindles including an upper plate having spaced notches around its edges which receive the upper sections of the spindles, a lower plate upon which the lower terminals of the spindles are rigidly mounted, means for urging the spindles in the direction of the notches to cause their upper sections to :be under a bending stress against such notches,

such upper sections being movable outwardly from the notches under greater bending stress to permit the tickets applied to the upper ends of the spindles to pass below the upper plate and a housing for the assembly includin an upper wall having an opening for the upper sections of the spindles and being of sumcient width to permit only one spindle to occupy the opening at one time.

4. A ticket receptacle including plural ticket spindles for receiving apertured ticket stubs, a spindle-carrying assembly including a vertical shaft journalled for rotative movement, a lower disc carried thereby upon which the lower ends of the spindles are rigidly mounted in spaced relation, an upper disc carried by the shaft and having spaced recesses about its periphery to receive the spindles adjacent their upper ends to afford support thereto, such spindles being biased inwardly under a bending stress to resiliently engage such recesses but being outwardly movable from the recesses under greater bending stress to permit tickets to pass below the upper disc, a housing for the assembly provided with an upper wall having a recess at the front defined by downwardly inclined side wall sections and a lower wall section having an opening to receive the upper section of the spindle and side wall openings through which the spindle .may pass during rotation of the assembly, the

distance between the spindles being greater than the distance between said side wall sections so as to expose only one spindle at a time for ticket application, detent means for positioning the spindle centrally of the side wall sections, and a stop for limiting further rotation of the assembly when the ticket spindles are filled.

5. A ticket receptacle including plural ticket spindles for receiving apertured tickets, a rotatable assembly for supporting the spindles including an upper disc having spaced notches around its periphery which receive the upper sections of the spindles, a lower disc upon which the lower terminals of the spindles are rigidly mounted on such axes as to cause their upper sections to be under a bending stress against the notches, such upper sections being movable outwardly from the notches under greater bending stress to permit the tickets applied to the upper ends of the spindles to pass below the upper disc, and a housing for the assembly including an upper wall having a downwardly extending recessed portion including a lower wall section having an opening for the upper sections of the spindles, opposed walls defining such recessed portion which are spaced apart a distance only sufllcient to receive one spindle therebetween, such walls having openings communicating with the lower wall section opening to permit the spindles to be rotated through the recessed portion, and de- 7 tent means for securing a spindle substantially centrally of the latter opening.

' 6.'A ticket receptacle including plural ticket spindles for receiving apertured ticket stubs, a spindle-carrying assembly including a vertical shaft journalled for rotative movement, a lower disc carried thereby upon which the lower ends v the upper sectionbf the'spindle'and'side wall openings through which the spindle may pass during rotation of the assembly, saidside wall sections spaced apart a distance less than the distance between the spindles so as to receive only one spindle at a time therebetween.

RICHARD I. N. WEINGART.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 511,703 King Dec. 26, 1893 1,190,152 Gross July 4, 1916 1,625,170 Tanner Apr. 19, 1927 2,142,490 Budd Jan. 31, 1939 

